"Honored God, there are some matters I wish to ask of you," Otto said, placing a hand over his chest and bowing respectfully to K-423. His attitude was polite, yet his composure carried an unmistakable trace of arrogance.
"Didn't I already answer you? I told you to die."
"No," Otto replied calmly, smiling as he lifted his gaze. "I want to hear your answer."
The god before him—the Will of Honkai—was not the same one he had seen during the Second Honkai Eruption.
Perhaps this one would give a different answer.
"How about you die right now?"
"If dying now could fulfill my wish, I would gladly do so."
"I have no interest in your plan to resurrect Kallen, nor will I help you."
"..."
K-423 looked up at the sky. Now that she had reached the Far East, she could draw on a much greater amount of Honkai energy.
Wait—this energy…
Honkai energy.
Her gaze shifted toward Gray Serpent.
The source of this world's Honkai energy was the Cocoon of the End.
There was no reason for so much energy to appear from nowhere.
It could only mean one thing—Kevin and Prometheus were behind this.
Had Kevin already been released?!
Gray Serpent's red optical sensors glowed faintly.
So this was the god of Honkai? From her reaction, it seemed she had realized the truth.
Their master resided on the Moon.
In the Far East region—where the Honkai energy was already dense—the concentration suddenly began to surge dramatically.
Massive numbers of Honkai Beasts were born from the energy storm.
But these new Honkai Beasts turned on the ones created by the Will of Ruler, attacking them ferociously.
Both Anti-Entropy and Schicksal soldiers froze in confusion at the sight.
"What's happening?! Honkai Beasts fighting each other?!"
"A Honkai civil war?!"
You really want to provoke me? You want to play this game?
K-423's eyes glinted coldly. Her Honkai energy was the key to stabilizing the interdimensional passage. The more Honkai energy she possessed, the stronger the bridge between the two universes became.
If the energy transformed into Honkai Beasts, it would stop dispersing naturally—but it would also enhance this civilization's resistance to collapse.
Though even when Honkai Beasts were destroyed, some energy always remained.
Still, if she wanted to safely bring Sirin and this body back with her, the passage needed to be as stable as possible.
When Welt Yang received the report that the Honkai Beasts in Nagazora were fighting each other, he was baffled.
"What in the world…? Why are the Honkai Beasts attacking each other?"
Einstein's voice came through the communicator: "Be careful. She's not the Will of Honkai we know—she's a new Will of Honkai."
Welt's expression hardened. "There's… more than one?"
He glanced at Otto, then at Gray Serpent—and realization dawned on him.
They had known all along.
Only Anti-Entropy had been left in the dark.
"Why are you attacking humanity?" he demanded, raising his voice.
The previous Will of Honkai had seemed almost like an ally in comparison.
But this one—the new Will of Honkai—was far more dangerous.
K-423 smirked. "You ever hear the saying, 'If I destroy you, what business is it of yours??'"
"You—!" Welt's face twisted with anger.
"Enough talk," K-423 said coldly.
While speaking to them, her true self had already completed preparations elsewhere.
Above Nagazora City—
The swirling vortex of Honkai energy expanded dozens of times over. At its center, the sky fractured, revealing a glimpse of the star-filled void beyond.
Honkai energy poured out from it, spreading across the entire world.
"Today, I'm leaving," K-423 declared flatly. "Do you plan to stop me?"
She spoke without hostility—she didn't intend to fight.
She couldn't win anyway.
This was merely a gamble.
"You're not going anywhere!"
Theresa raised the Oath of Judah, golden chains whipping forth to bind K-423's body.
"You'd better let me go," K-423 warned. "If anything happens to this body, you'll all die."
The sacred chains of the Oath of Judah constricted her, and she grimaced in discomfort.
"Honored God," Otto interjected, "your goal is to take Sirin with you, isn't it?"
He could already sense Honkai energy spreading across the world. At this rate, within a single day, human civilization would be wiped out.
Not that he particularly cared about its survival.
What puzzled him was—why was this being so fixated on Sirin?
Still, Otto knew this was the only leverage he had—and he intended to hold onto it tightly.
"So, are you threatening me?" K-423 asked with a hint of amusement.
"Oh, no, no, no," Otto said, shaking his head with a smile. "I only wish to make a deal with you." He turned toward Theresa. "Theresa, release her."
"..."
Reluctantly, Theresa withdrew the golden chains of the Oath of Judah that had bound K-423's body.
"I understand that you possess power far beyond what we mere mortals can resist," Otto said calmly.
From K-423's demeanor alone, he was certain—the new god of Honkai could annihilate human civilization in an instant if she wished. The only reason she hadn't was because she had her own objectives.
"I have no intention of becoming your enemy," Otto continued. "All I ask for is one promise."
"To resurrect Kallen."
"Yes." Otto nodded firmly.
No matter how twisted his methods or how grand his schemes, his ultimate goal had always been singular—
To bring Kallen Kaslana back to life.
K-423 studied Otto silently. Even as humanity teetered on the brink of destruction, his obsession remained fixed on resurrection.
Typical Otto.
She understood the type—someone who could never be swayed by threats against civilization itself.
"A verbal promise, then," she said with a faint smile.
Otto was gambling as well.
"If it's ever possible," K-423 said at last, "I'll bring her back."
"Those words are more than enough."
Otto smiled faintly.
K-423 didn't give the promise much weight. Someday was an undefined time frame—
Hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of years could count as someday.
If, in the distant future, she ever wished to resurrect Kallen, she could. It would hardly matter.
K-423's gaze swept across Siegfried, Theresa, Welt Yang, and Gray Serpent.
"So what will it be? You can destroy this body and watch your planet burn—or you can let me take Sirin and leave."
She was in no rush. The longer the interdimensional passage remained active, the more stable it became—and the more the odds shifted in her favor.
"If you retract your Honkai energy," Welt said after a long pause, "I'll allow you to take Sirin."
The Will of Honkai's target was Sirin. He still didn't understand why both the old and new Wills seemed so fixated on that girl.
During the Second Honkai Eruption, Sirin had received the god's special favor.
And now, this newly emerged Will of Honkai was bringing ruin upon the world—again, for Sirin's sake.
Welt had reviewed her personal records dozens of times. She was an ordinary girl from an ordinary family.
Why her?
Surely not just because she was cute?
K-423 turned to Gray Serpent. "You and your Kevin can go back to playing with your little Project STIGMA."
Gray Serpent tilted his head. "You're not going to ask for our opinion?"
"I don't think you have one."
Kevin hadn't appeared—not even once. Who knew what he was doing on the Moon?
If the leader didn't show up, there was no point in talking to the underlings.
K-423 didn't bother with him further.
Mounting her Honkai Beast once more, she headed toward Nagazora City.
Upon arrival—
A mass of violet, gelatinous tendrils condensed from Honkai energy descended from the sky. The bulb-like tip unfurled and enveloped K-423 completely, swallowing her whole before retracting swiftly into the vortex above.